First-Ever Friends of NRA Event in Area Scheduled for Feb. 27

By Teresa Stone

The newly formed Mid-Ohio Valley Friends of NRA (National Rifle Association) will host the first-ever Friends of NRA banquet to be held in the Marietta, Washington County area on Wednesday, February 27. The banquet benefits the NRA to help keep shooting sports alive and going strong.
 
The event begins at 6:00 p.m. at the Lafayette Hotel, 101 Front Street, Marietta. Everyone is welcome to attend including those who are not members of the NRA.
 
Two types of tickets are available. A $30 banquet ticket entitles the holder to a buffet dinner and door prize drawing. The $100 raffle package ticket entitles the holder to a buffet dinner, door prize drawing and $120 in raffle tickets.
 
The door prize drawing is for a Benelli Nova 12-gauge pump slug gun. Thirty items are slated for raffle drawings including a Marlin .17HMR rifle and Savage .22-250 rifle.
 
The evening also includes silent and live auctions where you can have the chance to bid on official NRA merchandise that is available only through their catalog.
 
Fifty percent of all funds generated at the banquet are earmarked for projects in Ohio. Groups meeting guidelines and completing a grant application can benefit from the banquet’s proceeds. Projects are funded in the areas of youth programs, shooting range development, firearm safety, hunter education and more.
 
“In the mid 1990’s we received $1,500 from the Friends of NRA in support of building the shooting pavilion at Hervida 4-H Camp. Those grant dollars made it happen and the range is used extensively by the 4-H Shooting Sports Program, shooters in the community and various groups renting Camp Hervida,” said Teresa Stone, Ohio State University Extension Educator for natural resources and 4-H.
 
For tickets and additional information, contact Tom Long, chairman, at 740-678-2549.